By Chelsie Chan
Picture this: a young Congolese girl observing her freshly-raped mother, thinking “Is this what’s going to happen to me because I’m a girl in this area?”
This the subject of senior Maria Ellman’s drawing, “Learning What It Means to Be a Woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“It’s a reflection of her daughter looking at her mom and seeing her future in a really striking way,” Maria said. “I wanted to show what it feels like to be a woman from the perspective of the daughters in this area.”
Maria considers this particular piece to be the most striking and powerful from her AP Art portfolio, of which her concentration focuses on women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The genocide there caused a rape epidemic, a lot of armed militia groups used rape to clear villages so they could mine these really valuable minerals in the land there,” she said.
Maria, president of Grizzlies Against Genocide, was inspired to create such art after watching interviews with Congolese women on CBS “60 Minutes” as research for her club.
“It was such a slap in the face because it was really horrible and sad,” said Maria. “A lot of these women, even though they’ve been through a lot of horrible stuff, can still take care of their kids and grow crops and become pillars of their society.
“I had the image of these really strong, heroic women who have been through the worst possible situations,” Maria said.
Grizzlies Against Genocide, a student club at Cal, focuses on teaching students about various violent injustices around the world and spreading the message to others to do what they can to help.
“Because her art recognizes a cause that she’s truly passionate about, Maria has the ability to make her pieces come to life and express emotion,” said senior Kurtis Choi, who has taken AP Art with Maria for two years. “If you’ve ever seen Maria’s art, then you’ll understand how her creativity has manifested into a cause of action.”
Maria’s artistic talent and dedication are both apparent to anyone that has seen her work, and she has already accomplished more than can be expected from a high school student.
“(Maria) is one of the most talented students I’ve had,” said art teacher Barbara Farmer.
Last summer, Maria was given the opportunity to showcase her artistic talents when she was asked to illustrate “One Night of Candy Cane Dreams,” a children’s book by Mary Fancher.
Senior Kelsey Belomy referred Maria to Fancher when the author’s original illustrator backed out of the project.
Kelsey thought of Maria when Mary asked her if she knew any talented young artists.
“(I did it because) I could tell that it meant a lot to (Fancher) and I knew that it would (have been) hard for her to find someone else,” said Maria.
In the book, a little boy describes a day in his life and has a dream in which he’s flying over maple trees filled with candy canes. The book doesn’t have a traditional plot, but is more a portrait of a boy’s childhood.
“There was one (drawing) of the little boy taking a bath and his mom was helping him,” said Maria. “I liked that one because it reflected childhood memories that I had – just bubbles everywhere.”
The project took Maria about two months to complete, and the results are amazing.
“It’s really cool to see Maria’s work printed between book covers,” said Maria’s mother, Janet Ellman. “I love the idea of her artwork bringing a smile to the faces of the kids who read the book.”
This fall, Maria will be attending Pomona College in Claremont, with a major in the sciences.
“I would love to go into the medical field,” she said. “(In the future) I want to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, to actually to go to one of the women’s hospitals and help out in any way I can.”
